This inner restlessness. A constant feeling of being short-changed, getting only the bread of life to eat, that has little salt. Therefore, I search in the Orell Füssli, a book with instructions on how to be happy. The offer is huge: “The Opening of the third eye”, “trees for the soul”, “the return of The gentle warrior”, “Find your Why”. Suddenly, a noise, and a woman in a floor-length white dress is standing next to me: “This is the filth you want to read? Come with me!” She pulls me to a couple of shelves and a book pushes my Hand: Epicurus, “philosophy of happiness”. “Thank you, but who are you?” “Allow me, Athene, Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom”, pinches me in the cheek and is gone.
Epicurus, Greek philosopher, 341-270 BC, explained the joy of life to the meaning of existence and is thus the great-grandfather of the happiness research. He has to tell us something?
“don’t Drink and a Feast after the other, not the enjoyment of boys, women, or fishing, and the other things, which offers a luxurious table, make the life full of lust, but of a sober mind, of the reasons for choosing and Avoiding out sells and the mere opinions, leaving most of the plunge the souls into concern.”
The sounds but little joy. To the enjoyment of the boys, we can do without, but on the Perch meunière? Sober mind instead of Pinot noir? Actually, we assume that a small drunk feeling is probably beneficial. Why so serious? The philosophers and it seems to be a Triage, you have to think clearly: Know your shoots!
“The desires are partly natural and necessary, some natural and not necessary, in part neither natural nor necessary, but due to a blank mind.”
wealth and fame are the desires, Epicurus unnatural and unnecessary – simply a Convention, fashion, public opinion. You are the reason for inner restlessness and constant discontent. Investment bankers and Influencers see things differently. Secondly, it is A natural but not necessary desire is the “love of pleasure”. Sex is unnecessary? A daring statement. However, we allow the thoughts short with a little more chastity one would have one or the other awkward night of love saves. Touchy Subject.
the natural and necessary desires Remain thirdly, The philosopher, called eat, Drink and warmth. Today, the fulfillment of these desires, however, is so obvious that it leaves no one stand out. That’s not enough, master, Epicurus!
“To all the desires you have to go with the following question: What will happen to me if I reached the goal of my desire? And what if I don’t satisfy you?”
Well, let us imagine that we would make the most beautiful woman in the presence of the yard: Penelope Cruz. Thanks to Athena’s divine help, and to his own Surprise, it is fond of us, we are funny and witty as ever, our Spanish hunk make you Laugh – hasta la vista, rioja rioja. The night of love is, as with Rosamunde Pilcher: “you sank thirst in the ocean of bliss.” After that, it then goes to the doctor, because, surprisingly, her husband showed up, this blond villain from the Bond Film. And since the Problem arises: How do we explain home of the blue eye?
So better not. But what happens when we beat the dream woman out of your head? The life goes his best; the longing back bobs up and down in front of you, is but to endure. And very important: the eye and the nose remain intact. Conclusion: Dona Penelope to stay where she is, imagination remains imagination. This is in Epicurus sense? Apparently, Yes.
“Because the desire is the first innate Good, that is why we do not choose every pleasure, but leave out a lot of pleasure from sensations, when, for us, your enjoyment is more of inconvenience to follow. A lustful life without reason, decency, and justice is not possible, and Vice versa, a reasonable, decent and fair life not without pleasure.”
old-fashioned That sounds now, if you think of happiness as something Ecstatic. It is also likely to be difficult to make pubescent adolescents is plausible that modesty right happy, that you will gain peace of mind, if you offer senior citizens in the Tram. Epicurus seems to be rather something for older people who have their brains in the handle. He says it himself:
“a young man is happy to prices, but an age when he has spent his life in righteousness.”
But how to create right? The rule of thumb is:
“don’t do anything in your life, something you have to fear that your neighbor would discover it.”
the batteries in the compost pile to dispose of is not definitely. Or, with binoculars, the neighbor during cooking watch. Or on Saturday night, “Helene-Fischer-Show” look. And even if it was the neighbors don’t care – we don’t do that, because there is no rational reason. The reason of Epicurus, the highest instance. It even beats the fear of the future, and before the death – the cause of the greatest discomfort in existence.
“You have to remember that the future is not completely in our Power, yet our influence is withdrawn, so that we can bite us, neither in the thought that it will so come in, nor give up hope that it will not happen.”
well, Mr. Epicurus, it is enough, I understood it. I try to be in the future, more modest, less Driving, more Thinking. But the question was: How will I be happy? Because I hear a noise in the room, and again, this woman standing next to me, called Athena. “Man, Rohrer, haven’t you understood it still? In the booklet is quite clear: “If you are unhappy, then you should not attach happiness to.” This was true for us Greeks, and the same is true for you in Zurich. If you have no Talent for happiness, use your head, and try it out with satisfaction!” Pinches my cheek and is gone.
(Tages-Anzeiger)
Created: 22.02.2019, 22:14 PM
